Turkey To Buy 2 Logistical Support Ships

Mar. 19, 2013 - 10:13AM
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ANKARA — Turkey’s procurement authorities have launched a competition to acquire two logistical support ships in a project estimated to be worth about $100 million.

In a statement, Turkey’s procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), said the competition would be open only to local shipyards. It said the requests for proposal could be obtained from the SSM’s headquarters in Ankara by April 12.

Industry sources said major Turkish shipyards that potentially will bid for the project include Dearsan, Desan, RMK, Sedef and Istanbul Tersanesi. All of these are privately owned shipyards near Istanbul.

Sedef was the first private Turkish shipyard to build a similar ship, the Akar-class Yarbay Kudret Gungor, which was launched in 1994 and commissioned in 1997. The vessel is 145 meters long and operates with 203 crew members. It has a platform for one medium-sized helicopter, carries 980 tons of fuel oil, 2,700 tons of water, 80 tons of oil and has 500 cubic meters of cargo.

As part of a deal penned last month, Pakistan’s Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works will build a replenishment tanker designed by Turkish technology and systems engineering company Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret (STM) within four years.

The government-owned STM will supply the design, integrated logistics and support, consultancy and management, training, test and trials support for the Pakistani project. The 15,600-ton, 155-meter-long, double-hull tanker has two replenishment rigs and can embark a medium-sized helicopter.